Early social communication in infants with fragile X syndrome and infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Background Little research in fragile X syndrome (FXS) has prospectively examined early social communication. Aims To compare early social communication in infants with FXS, infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASIBs), and typically developing (TD) infants. Methods and Procedures Participants were 18 infants with FXS, 21 ASIBs, and 22 TD infants between 7.5–14.5 months. Social communication was coded using the Communication Complexity Scale during the administration of Autism Observation Scale for Infants. Outcomes and Results Descriptively different patterns were seen across the three groups. Overall infants with FXS had lower social communication than ASIBs or TD infants when controlling for nonverbal cognitive abilities. However, infants with FXS had similar levels of social communication as ASIBs or TD infants during peek-a-boo. No differences were observed between ASIBs and TD infants. For all infants, higher social communication was related to lower ASD risk. Conclusions and Implications Findings provide insight into the developmental course of social communication in FXS. The dynamic nature of social games may help to stimulate communication in infants with FXS. Language interventions with a strong social component may be particularly effective for promoting language development in FXS.

Early gesture use in fragile X syndrome

“…A strength of our study was the integration of cross-group comparisons to determine whether early trajectories of gesture use in FXS were similar to those of high-risk siblings. Very few studies have contrasted FXS with other high-risk populations (Cornish et al 2007), particularly in regard to gesture use and early development (Roberts et al 2016b;Caravella & Roberts 2017;Hahn et al 2017). We found that while both FXS and high-risk sibling populations are at increased risk for ASD, early gesture use was differentially associated with ASD symptom severity in these two groups.…”

“…; Caravella & Roberts ; Hahn et al . ). We found that while both FXS and high‐risk sibling populations are at increased risk for ASD, early gesture use was differentially associated with ASD symptom severity in these two groups.…”

“…Another study of 7to 14-month-olds showed that infants with FXS used a smaller repertoire of gestures than typically developing infants (Hahn et al 2017). However, given the lack of longitudinal and cross-group studies on gesture use in FXS, it is unclear when these deficits emerge and how they are related to other areas of social functioning.…”

Initiating joint attention use in infants at high‐risk for autism spectrum disorder

“…; Hahn et al . ) or restricted use of gestures in general rather than focusing solely on IJA gestures (Flenthrope and Brady ). To our knowledge, there are no studies focusing specifically on IJA gaze shifts in infants with FXS and only one study analysing IJA gesture use in preschoolers with FXS.…”

“…Prior research on social communication in children with FXS has focused on language outcomes using visual attention (Kover et al 2015), preschool-aged children and adolescents rather than infants with FXS (Rogers et al 2003;Flenthrope and Brady 2010), other forms of JA (Marschik et al 2014;Hahn et al 2017) or restricted use of gestures in general rather than focusing solely on IJA gestures (Flenthrope and Brady 2010). To our knowledge, there are no studies focusing specifically on IJA gaze shifts in infants with FXS and only one study analysing IJA gesture use in preschoolers with FXS.…”